The bushy-crested hornbill is a bird in the hornbill family. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Region
Sundaland and adjacent mainland Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Occurs in Brunei, Indonesia (Borneo and nearby islands), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak), southern Myanmar, and southern Thailand. Its core habitat is primary and mature secondary lowland evergreen and dipterocarp forest. It also uses hill forest and selectively logged areas where large cavity-bearing trees remain. The species forages mostly in the mid- to upper canopy and will descend to fruiting trees at forest edges or along rivers. Sensitivity to extensive deforestation makes it more common in protected or less disturbed tracts.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Bushy-crested hornbills are cooperative breeders that move in noisy family groups, often helping raise a single nesting female sealed in a tree cavity. They are important seed dispersers in Southeast Asian forests, especially for figs and other fruiting trees. Their shaggy head crest and pale horn-colored bill make them distinctive among medium-sized hornbills.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
strong flier with steady wingbeats and short glides
Social Behavior
Typically travels in cohesive family parties or small flocks that engage in cooperative breeding. Nests in large tree cavities with the female sealed inside during incubation and early chick rearing, fed by the male and helpers. Pairs maintain territories within larger home ranges and communicate with loud calls.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include loud cackles, yelps, and chattering series that carry far through the forest. Wingbeats can produce audible whooshing sounds when birds pass overhead.
